Home Ministry's ISA poll yields 'interesting' results

A poll on the Home Ministry's website regarding the Internal Security Act saw an overwhelming majority labelling the security legislation as 'draconian' and calling for its repeal.

As at 7.45pm, a total of 1,034 people had participated in the poll , with 915 (88 percent) dismissing the law which provides for detention without trial as being oppressive and outdated.

Eighty-five respondents described it as a 'preventive law' while another 34 were 'not sure'.

The poll, which commenced last night, comes in the wake of Saturday's massive street protest against the law.

Led by opposition leaders, some 30,000 people jammed the traffic arteries of Kuala Lumpur, leading to the police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Nearly 600 people were detained. Of this figure, 29 have been charged with illegal assembly and violating the Societies Act.

Crafted to deal with the communist insurgency in the 1960s, the law earned notoriety when it was used against political dissidents.

The most notable crackdown being 'Ops Lalang' in 1987 which saw more than 100 people being detained during the tenure of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Majority vote for 'repeal'

In the past, the government had repeatedly defended the law as vital in ensuring national security, more so in recent years following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

However, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration has vowed to undertake a comprehensive review of the law which critics claim tramples upon human rights.

On the question framed as ' Apa yang anda mahu dari ISA? ' (What do you want from ISA?), a total of 1,035 or 92 percent (as at 7.50pm) of 1,106 respondents wanted the law repealed.

Sixty-two wanted the government to continue with the revision while nine were 'confused'.

Apart from this, the poll also asked respondents whether they understood the law and how did they learn about it.

The last question was on whether respondents were aware that 'United States and Great Britain have their own preventive laws. ISA is one of the acts referred to by them'.

To this, 467 respondents or 49 percent had clicked on 'Yes, I know' while 457 or 48 percent answered 'This means nothing to me'.

A total of 956 respondents had answered this question as at 7.55pm.

Meanwhile, there is a campaign underway in the popular online networking site Facebook urging members to participate in the poll and press the government to repeal the act.